In the dispensing of modern liquid products, keeping components of a liquid product separate until just before dispensing the components into the final product may be desirable. For example, keeping two components of a mouthwash separate prior to dispensing the product may be necessary to prevent undesirable, premature reaction of the components. Other consumer products examples where keeping ingredients separate may be desirable include surfactant and conditioner ingredients in shampoos and surfactant and moisturizer ingredients in shower gels.
In some cases it is not only important that the components meet only after they have exited the bottle, but also that one component does not contaminate another within the bottle. After dispensing, some residue of one or another component may remain in the dispensing area of the bottle. This may create a risk of cross-contamination where one liquid component may enter the chamber in which another liquid is kept.
In some applications the specific ratio of one component to another may be important for the final product to be effective and not be too diluted or concentrated. Conventionally, metering of the ratio of one component to another is a challenge particularly because, since the bottle is tipped for dispensing by a user, the tipping angle of the bottle is highly uncontrolled.
Therefore, a need exists for an improved multi-chambered bottle that a) dispenses separately stored components for them to mix into a single product stream, b) reduces or eliminates the risk of cross-contamination, c) accurately meters the ratio of one component to the other regardless of the tipping angle, and d) may be manufactured cost-effectively.